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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — ground
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. craft — a skill
  9. shower — rain
  10. mug — to rob
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — to come down
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. craft — boats
  16. mug — a cup
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mug — a face
  19. game — a match
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com